SAIC-Developed UK Government On-line Service Wins IVCA Gold Award
(LONDON) Apr 20, 2004 - Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) today announced that the businesslink.gov online service, whose development and launch was led by SAIC's Opta Division, has won the prestigious International Visual Communication Association (IVCA) Business Communication Awards 2004 in the category for best business use of the Internet. The award recognises the service's groundbreaking customer proposition and the quality of its implementation.
The judge's citation stated: “This site has clearly put the needs of the user at the heart of its architecture, design and execution. It is clear, comprehensive, accessible, clean and highly usable with outstanding navigation and powerful tools. It should provide a platform to provide more services and updated content in the future and should be considered a model for public sector Web sites.
Soft-launched in November 2003, the service (www.businesslink.gov.uk) has been developed to help businesses through the regulatory maze and find the government support available. The service provides interactive tools, jargon-free government approved content and access to services for the business community.
SAIC's Opta Division was selected to undertake the initial strategic positioning and proposition development work for the service, and eventually the launch of the entire service. SAIC was responsible for leading the creation of a portfolio of services across multiple government departments, providing the overall launch management, selecting and managing technical and creative partners and suppliers to the programme, overseeing the technical delivery, managing content procurement and editorial as well as developing the operational processes.
Mark Holden, director of e-Services at the Small Business Service, the Agency within the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) operating Business Link and the businesslink.gov on-line service, said, “This has been a significant undertaking which has involved some extremely complex cross-departmental working. The involvement of SAIC's Opta Division has made a major contribution to keeping the project on schedule, under budget and to our quality standards. Their ability to work with us side by side, their willingness to immerse themselves in the proposition and their consummate professionalism have been invaluable.”
Patrick Elliott, SAIC's launch director for the programme said, “We have worked very hard over the past two years to create a truly customer-focused online service offering for the UK government that really helps the business community. The efforts made in getting the service right for the customer by continually validating the service through customer research, and the investment made in working with multiple government departments to produce a genuinely joined initiative have paid off.”
Business Link is an easy to use business support, advice and information service funded by government and managed by the DTI. It is dedicated to helping new and existing businesses develop and progress by ensuring that they can quickly and easily locate and benefit from the broadest range of private, public and voluntary business support services. Businesses can contact Business Link at www.businesslink.gov.uk or by phoning 0845 600 9006.
Opta is a Division of SAIC, operating from SAIC's offices in London, which provides consulting, outsourcing and IT technology services to a broad range of commercial and UK government clients, with offices in Glasgow and Aberdeen. SAIC's Opta Division helps companies and other organizations create new businesses, products and services. For many years, Opta has been responsible for large, groundbreaking launches within the private and the public sector. More information about SAIC's Opta Division can be found at www.opta.com.
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